What challenges of coexistence did the Great Migration create?

Poverty in Britain

cholera - a contagious disease that causes intestinal problems and dehydration

demographic change - change in the characteristics of a population

emigrant - a person who leaves their native country to establish a home and citizenship in another country

emigration - leaving one's country to establish citizenship and a home in another country

famine - a shortage of food leading to starvation for many people

immigrant - a person intending to establish a home and citizenship in a country that is not their native country

quarantine - a place where people with a contagious disease were required to stay, to separate them from the healthy people and to prevent the spread of the disease.

unemployment - have no work

  Many factors led to the migration of British people:

• Industrial Revolution - machines replaced jobs

• Lost farms - large landowners bought up small farms

• Napoleonic Wars (ended in 1815) 

  • economic slow down

  • high rates of unemploymnet

• Irish Famine (1840) - Farms were hit with the Potato Blight

Opportunity in the Colonies

Colonies in North America provided

• Location to start over after

• Britain encouraged emigration

  • relieved economic troubles on the government

  • reinforced loyalty in the colonies

 New colonists in British North America meant there new demands:

• More farms needed

• More British People

  • 800,000 people emigrated from Europe to British North America

What challenges of coexistence did the Great Migration Create? 

As a new immigrant to Canada, your ancestors had to overcome some great obstacles.  Your task is to return to your family tree, find one person who you are going to trace back to Europe during this time period (1815 - 1900) and answer the following questions:

1. Where did my European ancestors come from?

2. When did my ancestors immigrate?

3. Why did they come to North America?

You will need to complete the handout

Some sites that will help you track down your family:

That's My Family

Family Search

Ancestry

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